Spyderco Advocate

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cistercian

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I just got my most recent spydie...the Advocate. It is a major departure from
my comfort zone in knives...which requires some explanation.
I do not like frame locks. I never have! I do not like steels that stain...and this
knife has a CPM M4 blade!
But when I read the specifications, like how thin and light it was combined with
a long cutting edge...something told me to order it. I know the M4 steel is very tough
and holds an edge like mad so I figured I would always oil it. I have seen frame locks
and handled them too and I decided to see if I liked this one. Pictures of the knife made
it look very attractive...I awaited it's arrival with some trepidation. I expected it later this week.......
but the dealer shipped it 2nd day (for free) and I found the package in the mailbox today.

The first thing I did was oil it! Then I inspected it closely. Fit and finish are exceptional.
Polishing on the blade and scales is flawless. The handle is a bit bigger than I expected
and so is the blade...which was greeted by delight from me. Centering, action smoothness, and lockup are perfect. The orange peel texture on the scales works great for me too.
It is a beautiful knife indeed.
The package comes together to make for a perfect dress up EDC / special occasion knife.
I love it! I only use the flipper to open it...and it is more fun than I expected! I like the polished clip too...and I LOVE the blade shape and handling feel!
This does not mean I am going to buy a bunch of flippers though! But this knife is exceptional. I am very pleased with it and am glad I stepped out of my comfort zone
to get it. It is a great addition to the line up!!!
Highly recommended!
 
Been meaning to get an Advocate for a while. Love my Mantra 1.:thumbsup:
 
That mantra looks cool!
I saw there was a mod to the pivot of the Advocate...mine is the one
with bigger ball bearings and thicker washers. It feels great!
I really like the lines of the knife too...it has lots of delight factor / eye candy
going for it. I have a friend who has a lot of PM2 and PM3's and a Sebenza.
I can't wait to see his take on it. He likes smaller blades though...
 
It’s one you don’t hear about a whole lot, but it is a pretty awesome, underrated knife! Very thin and light for its size, and M4 is one of my favorite steels. Action is great and lockup is like a vault. Plus, being a Texan and having Gayle Bradley’s logo on the blade makes it that much better for me.
Fk3h4uO.jpg
 
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Nice. I really like the Gayle Bradley design too. It is an epic grade folder for sure!
Lighter than a para 2 and thinner as well... I gambled it was a winner.

I was right!

PS. I live in pork country. But I like cow best! Have some good brisket for me!!!

PPS. North Carolina.
 
cistercian said:
That mantra looks cool!
I saw there was a mod to the pivot of the Advocate...mine is the one
with bigger ball bearings and thicker washers. It feels great!
I really like the lines of the knife too...it has lots of delight factor / eye candy
going for it. I have a friend who has a lot of PM2 and PM3's and a Sebenza.
I can't wait to see his take on it. He likes smaller blades though...
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Has there been a cqi on these? I was interested in these when they came out, but the thin washers turned me off. Seeing a few of these around the forums has piqued my interest again.
 
The Advocate is one of my favorite knives. I kind of wished I would of waited for CQI though. I finally took mine apart last weekend and I can’t believe how thin the washers are. They are both dished and have hairline cracks in them, but still flips “ok”. I’ve been meaning to send Spyderco an email to see if their is anything they can do to fix it, but I have been so busy with work. Kind of a bummer one of my favorite knives had such a piss poor pivot design from the beginning. Hopefully the CQI has solved all the issues, because it sounds like it has.
 
blades&wrenches said:
It’s one you don’t hear about a whole lot, but it is a pretty awesome, underrated knife! Very thin and light for its size, and M4 is one of my favorite steels. Action is great and lockup is like a vault. Plus, being a Texan and having Gayle Bradley’s logo on the blade makes it that much better for me.
Fk3h4uO.jpg
Click to expand...

I really like my Advocate and was fortunate enough to buy one of the new (CQI) ones at a discount when the big auction site was offering 15% off.

On a side note, I was fortunate enough to meet Mr. Bradley at the Dallas Arms Collectors Show last summer. He was a really nice guy. He even let me handle a prototype knife he's working on.
 
I agree.

I generally am not fond of Ti scaled knives but the texturing on the Advocate makes it look/feel different. A vast improvement over knives like the Techno, Mantra 1/2, SpydieChef and K2. I also like flippers (own almost all of them that Spyderco has made) so it was an automatically on my "buy list" just because of that. I also prefer knives w/longer blades (over 3.5"), which is why own the K2 but not the others mentioned.

I also own the Bradley GB1 & 2 but, although those are fine knives, I still prefer the Advocate to those because it simply looks/feels better to me in my hand.

A very good purchase. Congrats!
 
Congrats on your excellent purchase! I'm really enjoying the use of my CQI version too. I think the Advocate has one of the best blade shapes put out by Spyderco, and the flipping action is spot on perfect...snappy and fast.
 
Murphjd25 said:
I’ve been meaning to send Spyderco an email to see if their is anything they can do to fix it, but I have been so busy with work. Kind of a bummer one of my favorite knives had such a piss poor pivot design from the beginning. Hopefully the CQI has solved all the issues, because it sounds like it has.
Click to expand...

If you do hear from Golden, I would be very interested to know what they say.
 
Murphjd25 said:
The Advocate is one of my favorite knives. I kind of wished I would of waited for CQI though. I finally took mine apart last weekend and I can’t believe how thin the washers are. They are both dished and have hairline cracks in them, but still flips “ok”. I’ve been meaning to send Spyderco an email to see if their is anything they can do to fix it, but I have been so busy with work. Kind of a bummer one of my favorite knives had such a piss poor pivot design from the beginning. Hopefully the CQI has solved all the issues, because it sounds like it has.
Click to expand...

I've sent a couple of things recently to Spyderco for repair w/mixed results. Communication from them was poor.

Can't you just replace the teflon washers with new ones or replace them w/ones that are PB instead? Seems like that's all that needs to be done.
 
I got an email back saying if I took it apart(which I did and how I know the washers are dished) that it would not be covered under warranty and I would have to pay. Sadly, that is the straw that breaks my back. I have a buyer lined up locally to buy my last five Spydercos today. I am moving on, and have found knives from different manufacturers that suit me better anyways, and actually encourage you to disassemble your knives and maintain them. It was a good run Spyderco. I won’t own anymore again though.
 
Murphjd25 said:
I got an email back saying if I took it apart(which I did and how I know the washers are dished) that it would not be covered under warranty and I would have to pay. Sadly, that is the straw that breaks my back. I have a buyer lined up locally to buy my last five Spydercos today. I am moving on, and have found knives from different manufacturers that suit me better anyways, and actually encourage you to disassemble your knives and maintain them. It was a good run Spyderco. I won’t own anymore again though.
Click to expand...

Not sure why they'd say that.

If you are abandoning Spyderco as a knife line, this is of no importance to you but, FWIW, my reading of Spyderco's warranty policy (which is posted online) is that IF you take a knife apart and DON'T put it back together properly so that the knife functions as it should THEN the warranty will be void. So, I believe that what they told you by email is incorrect.
 
sgt1372 said:
Not sure why they'd say that.

If you are abandoning Spyderco as a knife line, this is of no importance to you but, FWIW, my reading of Spyderco's warranty policy (which is posted online) is that IF you take a knife apart and DON'T put it back together properly so that the knife functions as it should THEN the warranty will be void. So, I believe that what they told you by email is incorrect.
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That was my understanding as well, so I’m not sure if whoever sent an email back knows anything..

It’s ok though, I honestly never carry a Spyderco anymore, it’s more of forcing myself to carry one. I fell down the Hinderer and CRK rabbit hole now.
 
Murphjd25 said:
I got an email back saying if I took it apart(which I did and how I know the washers are dished) that it would not be covered under warranty and I would have to pay. Sadly, that is the straw that breaks my back. I have a buyer lined up locally to buy my last five Spydercos today. I am moving on, and have found knives from different manufacturers that suit me better anyways, and actually encourage you to disassemble your knives and maintain them. It was a good run Spyderco. I won’t own anymore again though.
Click to expand...
Hmmm. That’s unsettling and seems like a step backwards. :(

I was mostly curious if they have a solution for replacing or upgrading the internals, were you to send in the knife.
 
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